Yes, I ATE MY PLACENTA!

This for all of my curious friends and peers who really wondered if I would eat it.......I promised that I would document the placenta encapsulation experience---so if you are at all squeamish or appalled for any reason, please don't read this---I do value your friendship. =)
WHAT STARTED THIS OBSESSION?
It started during a massage session with one of my favorite people, Christina Harrell, with MamaLove Massage.  She was telling me how to give birth safely in the untimely event of having to birth alone.  She stated that if I was bleeding to death, I could eat a bite of my placenta, and stop the bleeding.  WOW!!  This sparked my curiosity, and after googling it, I was AMAZED at all the benefits of consuming one's placenta. Yes, Kevin was appalled at the thought......I continued to research, and discovered that there is one professional placenta encapsulator in the state of Montana.  I called her and she said she'd happily pick up my placenta, take it home in a baggie, encapsulate it, and have it returned in pill form within 3 days (which is important, because by day 3, the hormone levels are changing drastically). She charged $275, and I was EXCITED!!!!  Of course, as any good obsessing hormonal mother would do, I told all my friends!  Most wanted to barf, but one of my dearest of dear friends told me about a local midwife, Shehan, who had heard of my obsesssion, and offered to help me do it myself! I called Shehan, and we decided on a rug barter. =)  She told me to give her a call when my baby was born.....

The day came, and Iris was born. Shortly after, my placenta was born too.  Although my whole family (with the exception of Constance, age 7) was extremely grossed out, and unwilling to embrace the idea of a homeschool event of a lifetime, Kevin appeased me by calling Shehan immediately after I gave birth.  (thank you Kevin).

Shehan came out the next day, and helped me through the process of encapsulating the placenta.  When she arrived the day after Iris' birth,  I welcomed her in.  Quietly, everyone (Kevin, my mom, all the kids) disappeared.  Only Constance remained.  =)

Benefits of placenta consumption include more milk, less fatigue, quicker healing, a calmer baby (as they continue to ingest hormones from your placenta in milk form), less post partum depression (it's my own hormone replacement).  The placenta is a bag of hormones, perfectly designed for my body.
The placenta is highly valued in most countries, with the exception of America, where it is deemed as waste material.....

I consumed between 2-6 pills a day, depending on when I remembered, and how I felt.  I did not notice HUGE changes.  It is hard to make judgements when I don't have much to compare it too. I have never had any major issues, so I can only guess how much it really helped.

I did notice a big change in my fingernails. They, for the first time, have been growing like crazy and are strong.  Iris is happy and peaceful.....is that a result??  OR is she just happy and peaceful?

Here's the story in picture form.

Constance was extremely excited to be a part of the birth. She watched me push Iris out, and cut the cord.  She asked Dolly, my midwife, dozens of questions.   Even now, she wants to start a midwifery business.

 Baby Iris---day 1.

 Shehan arrived at my door.  I asked her to give Constance and I an "education," as I had never really examined my placentas before. Kevin did bury a couple of them under my apple tree.  A few he threw in the dumpster.  She put on her rubber gloves, and thourally examined the placenta, which had spent the night in the green popcorn bowl (a high school graduation present for Kevin) in the back of the fridge.....she said the placenta was average size and quite healthy looking.  I stood there, very proud of it.  It was a weird feeling.

Shehan showed me the bag of waters, which is where Iris lived for 40 weeks.  She showed me exactly where the bag broke during labor.  The sac consisted of 2 layers, and was very stretchy.  Pretty crazy!

There's the placenta. She showed us the blood canals and membranes. I admit, this was the grossest part.  

Okay, maybe this was.... =)  She washed the placenta off, to remove excess blood.  She got the double boiler going, and steamed the planta for 15 minutes.  Then she turned it around, and steamed the other side 15 minutes.  In the boiling water, she had added fresh ginger and 2 chili peppers (which have a warming effect).  The placenta shrunk considerably.  It looked like liver.  I know most of you don't cook or eat livers, and I can attest that it wasn't that bad....

Here it is all cooked up.

Shehan, with a sharp knife and fork, sliced the planta into thin slices. The thinner it's sliced, the faster it dries out.

We laid the thin stripes onto a cookie sheet and put it in the oven at about 150 degrees.  Shehan told me to keep them there until they become brittle, about 7-9 hours.    So in the oven it went.

It did take about 9 hours before it became brittle.  It looked just like my normally burned bacon, and just to gross out my favorite people, I ate a bit.  It tasted like my normally burned bacon as well. =)  

It was bed time when this process was completed, so I put the placenta strips in a baby, for a time when I could continue the process.  The next day was really busy and I didn't have time to deal with it. However,  I knew I should start taking it, so I just took bites of it through out the day.  As long as I didn't think about it, it was fine.  Burned bacon. =)

Finally, the time came (day 3 after the birth) to grind the placenta up. I decided to respectfully stay away from  Kevin's fancy espresso maker,  and use the cheaper coffee grinder that we use only for decaf coffee beans (consider next time you want decaf at our house--or popcorn for that matter).  The placenta strips were easier to grind than coffee beans, and when this process was done, I gently wiped out the grinder, and placed it back in the cupboard.

Part of the ground up placenta.

Joseph bravely enters the scene, and is drawn to the empty pills. =)

The encapsulating process begins.  Constance and I were beaming with pride at this point.  

Joseph caught our vision, and we gave him the job of taking the pills apart before we filled them.  Constance did most of this tedious work.  I ended up with about 100 pills.

I guess Susanna caught the vision too (Get OFF the table, Susie!).  Guess the gross part was over.  

a photo of the first pill I encapsulated.

My pills are gone.  I ate my placenta, and the story is over......

Constance and I are considering going into business...both of us would happily touch another persons placenta with rubber gloves (or not) for $275.  Easy money in my mind. =)  

So let us know.... =)  

And please comment!!!!!

Why I have babies....

I have been discouraged lately.  Still sick.  Still stuck to the couch.  Still barfing up bile each morning.  Still humiliated each time someone surprises me with a visit, to find heaps and piles of who knows what lying around, not dealt with.
But today in church, I was once again renewed with hope.  There were TWO brand new babies there. I couldn't help myself--I was the baby hog that mothers dread! (Hey, I am admitting to it--that's half the battle, right?)  As I held and carefully examined little Eadie Beisel,  I was stunned at how precious little babies are.  They stay little for such a short time!  I was stunned that I have experienced new life in my home five times!  I was filled with excitement that I will have another chance to experience the joy of a new baby!  EXCITEMENT people!  I  am convinced that the more babies a person has, the more they want because they value the experience all the more.  Have I stated the fact that I LOVE BABIES???  Sick or not, I walked out of church thrilled at the future of another one in our home, convinced that I can make it through 6 more weeks of nausea and fatigue.
A lot of people wonder why Kevin and I want so many children.  It's as though we are a freak of nature or a circus act of some sort.  Our reasons are purposeful.  When attending Bible college,  I was an audience to a debate, one team composing of those who who thought families should wait to have children and then carefully control the amount;  the other team consisted of those who were pro-large family.  The debate did not last too long, because the large-family team won hands down!  I won't go into details, because I don't want to offend anyone--but from that moment on, I decided that if God gave me a family, I wanted to make them priority and give God the ability to do whatever He wanted in my family, even if that meant I would oppose the culture around me by having LOTS of children.  I told Kevin that evening (we were dating at the time) that I wanted 12 children when we married!  He, in shock at the thought, could not respond.  After considering it, he came back and said I was worth having 12 kids, so my desires were fine.  =)   (I am all about communicating BEFORE marriage...no assuming !!!)  The rest is history.  We are going on 10 years of marriage, so I am on track so far.  =)
I am not Mormon. I am not Catholic (do even these religions do pro-family anymore?).  I am also not a legalistic quiver-full movement person.  Kevin and I LOVE our kids.  We love each and every one and we can't imagine what ANOTHER one would do to change the dynamics of our family--but we anticipate it!
Did I mention that it is hard?  Overwhelming?
Our kids aren't deprived---at least they don't think they are.
Just so you know,  these are dumb comments:
 "Don't you know how babies are made?"
 "Don't you have a T.V?"
"This is your last, I hope."
"You aren't going to have more, are you?"
Please, if you don't have something intelligent to say, just keep your mouth closed. (This is what I teach my children.)
So, out of the muck of discouragement I come.  I am back on track to optimistic dreams of my purposeful life! I am thankful that God has given me these GIFTS of little ones, who someday will be adults, serving the Lord themselves!
Alright--where are the pickles?
                                                                   Noah Jeremiah age 8 1/2
                                                   

Constance Joy age 7 (almost)

                                                                Lily Clara 5 1/2

                                                                   Joseph Gompert 3 1/2

                                                            Susanna Lorraine 20 months

                                                                      up-to-date

Psalm 139:13-16 "For Thou didst form my inward parts;  Thou didst weave me in my mother's owmb.  I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  Wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.  Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance;  And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them!"

Psalm 127: 4-5 "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of ones' youth.  How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;  they shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate."

How many bridges can I burn in one day?

I had a nightmare this past week, regarding something very close to my heart, family segregation in our culture, particularly,  in our churches.  Kevin and I discuss church and family government ideals and theories for hours.  (And now that I have been couch-ridden, listening to conservative talk radio all day, I now can involve myself in delightful American government discussions as well!) ANYWAY, this terrible dream involved me compromising my beliefs, and I woke up angry and disappointed in myself, that I failed so miserably in my dream.  SO I resolved myself to type out, in essay form, my PERFECT idea on how a church should operate.  WOW, what a paper it was!  I fixed every problem and issue!  I wanted to post it on facebook, post it on my new blog and show the world what the ideal really is.  However,  the essay was harsh, and I didn't dare show anyone until I showed it to Kevin.  So I waited in great anticipation for Kevin to arrive home.  Something strange happened after my afternoon nap--I pondered how many dozen people I might offend in a very short period of time, and soon realized that Kevin would not be proud of my heartless essay of high ideals.  Later in the day, I closed my document on the computer, hoping Kevin wouldn't even know I wrote it.  

That evening, in reading my latest favorite book, "Homemaking" by J.R. Miller, I read this: 

"Theories are not half so important as the parents' lives." 

 "We impress ourselves upon our children less by what we teach them than by what we are."  

This was a painful moment, being reminded that theories are fine, but my character and life as a mother, wife and teacher is far more important. My personal and spiritual refinement is FAR more important than burning many bridges with those I love as I try to prove an unnecessary point.  

When will I learn?   

I will stuff this printed essay in the depths of my journal, and hope my truck of journals burns sometime before I die.  

AND I am thankful that Kevin encourages me to seek the betterment of others.

The depths of my morning sickness.

I am not sure this is the perfect time to begin blogging my life away, due to the fact that I am in the 8th week of pregnancy.  My usually purposeful, disciplined and obsessive tendencies give way to near inability to function.  The home management falls apart.  Noah's ketchup packet tricks in the bathroom stick on the toilet a little (okay, a lot) longer than usual.  The kids, though obedient and helpful, begin to lose hope in the direction and guidance of mom.  Kevin falls asleep on the couch from mere exhaustion from his work load, the kids, and filling in the undone "mommy" gaps.  It's a hard humbling trial for me, one I anticipate ending  (hopefully at week 16, as usual).

However!!!!  ALERT!!!!  I am growing a baby! This is important unseen work!  My unborn child is the size of a kidney bean, and has working knees and elbows.  He is growing fingers this week.  This is a huge task, and gives me a glimmer of hope while I stay sick......

And then I ponder the millions of babies who are aborted.  This thought makes my blood boil, even in my sickness!  But for another time....

So when I got pregnant, I decided up on two goals:

1.  NO COMPLAINING.  This has been hard and I have failed on occasion.  I am thankful for so much, and I know this small amount of suffering is for my benefit and character building.  It also helps to stay away from people---the temptation to complain is lessened when no one is listening.  =)

2.  No T.V. or movies.  I hate movies.  I used to endure them on occasion, but now I can't even do that.  I would rather stare at a blank wall than watch a movie.  My conscience is sensitive and I never plan to change this.  However, I find that when I get sick with morning sickness, I find relief in movies--T.V., chick flicks, anything to occupy my mind......my conscience goes out the window and I waste my hours in junk and worthelessness.  Not to mention, letting my kids do the same.......NOT THIS TIME!  I bought a pile of edifying books on Amazon, and have a big pile next to my chair. I have already put a dent in this pile.  It's been a blessing so far.  I also have my knitting basket and my Audio Bible series next to my chair.  So hopefully I will come out of this season less "scarred."

Eight more weeks.  Can I make it?  Oh, I anticipate getting a bit of my life back.  I look forward to eating, thinking clearly, managing my home better, and simply feeling good again......